Trump admin updates: ICE launches immigration enforcement operation in Boston

Following reports that New York City Mayor Eric Adams was allegedly being offered a position in the Trump administration as an incentive to drop out of the mayoral race, President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that he would like to see the race be "one-on-one."

The New York Times reported Wednesday that advisers to Trump have discussed giving incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, a position in the administration to clear the field and set up a head-to-head race between mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani and is now running as an independent.

The talks have also involved Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, the Times reported.

Adams' campaign denied to ABC News that he had spoken with Trump and said he was not offered or asked for a role in Trump's administration.

On Thursday, the president said “No” when asked if he’d urged any mayoral candidates to drop out, but went on to say he would like for it to be a head-to-head race.

"I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one-on-one. And I think that's a race that could be won," Trump said.

In mid-July, after the Democratic primary, Trump told reporters that Cuomo should remain in the race.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

The vice president took to X to slam senators who grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during Thursday's hearing.

Vice President JD Vance, who did not name anyone specifically, accused the senators of "trying to lecture and 'gotcha' Bobby Kennedy," and used vulgarity to criticize them.

Two Republican senators -- both doctors -- sidestepped questions from ABC News asking if they have confidence in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to continue leading HHS, as Thursday's hearing wrapped up.

When asked if RFK Jr. assuaged his concerns or if the HHS secretary should resign, Sen. Bill Cassidy referred to his questioning in the hearing.

Cassidy pointedly asked the secretary about his COVID-19 vaccine policies.

Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate and a doctor as well, also avoided questions about his confidence in RFK Jr.

"I have confidence in what the president of the United States is doing and I would not second guess it," he told ABC News.

ABC News' Jay O'Brien

Trump signed an executive order implementing his trade deal with Japan, according to the White House.

The deal was reached in July but had to be finalized by both the U.S. and Japan.

“Under the Agreement, the United States will apply a baseline 15 percent tariff on nearly all Japanese imports entering the United States, alongside separate sector-specific treatment for automobiles and automobile parts; aerospace products; generic pharmaceuticals; and natural resources that are not naturally available or produced in the United States," the order says.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie